History Repeats Itself
by Chandlure Trainez
Summary: Twelve years ago, Usopp's mother passed away from Yellow Fever. Now in the New World Usopp faces the same illness, but will he face the same consequences? 'Watching them in all those fights, one tends to forget that they are still kids. They get lost, they get scared and most of all one forgets that they still need guidance.' Strong themes of family and friendship. No pairings.
1. Day of Contraction

_History Repeats Itself_

 **Day of Contraction**

Mordor Island, an uninhibited island right smack in the middle of the New World, is where we begin our journey. It was a summer island, and a blistering one at that. The forest, which made up almost 98% of the island, with its 200-foot trees and 50-foot bushes, did nothing to combat against the suffocating humidity that blanketed the area.

The Straw Hats had arrived on the island just past midday; calm waves lapped at their ankles as they climbed down the twisted ropes and onto the sea soaked sand. The group, save Franky who decided it best that someone stay with the ship, followed an ancient map that Nami had stolen off pirate passersby a week earlier. The map, barely legible with its numerous tears and faded lettering, was said to lead to an area on the island rumoured to be home to an ancient treasure.

Walking through the jungle had proved to be more strenuous than they had originally thought. The humidity and intense heat combated that of even Alabasta, leaving the group far more exhausted and irritable than they would have otherwise been. The animals, which stood five to six times the height of an average human, had no chance against the cranky Straw Hats who wanted nothing more than a cool shelter. Chopper, with his thick reindeer coat, barely made it ten minutes before giving up and turning back to the safe haven of the Thousand Sunny with Brooke.

It was nearing supper when Usopp had finally spotted something that was not trees or other forest debris. "A castle?" he questioned, his sharp eyes zoning in on the deteriorating building before anyone else. He turned to Nami and looked over her shoulder towards the small map clutched in her hands. "Is there anything about a castle on that map of yours? I thought this was an uninhibited island."

She glanced down at the map in her hand and turned it over to the scrawled writing in the back. It was illegible. Annoyed, partially because of the heat, partially because of the faded map that held very few clues, Nami glared at him. "Do you see any people, Idiot?" she snipped.

"Touchy," Usopp muttered to himself, running a hand through his sweat soaked curls to pull it away from his face. He grimaced at the wetness and wiped it off on his tank top. He looked over at Luffy who was trotting beside him looking for all he was worth as if he were about to keel over, "oi, Luffy. Are you okay?"

"So thirsty," Luffy whined, sending puppy dog eyes towards Usopp.

Usopp chuckled and rolled his eyes, "well, you aren't getting any of my water. You should have thought about needing water when you were giving yours to that flying bird thing."

"I was giving him water so that he would let me ride him!" Luffy pouted his voice defensive as he crossed his arms in front of his chest and glared at his best friend.

"Oh that worked brilliantly," Usopp snapped back. "You lost all of your water _and_ you don't have a ride. Brilliant plan, _Captain_."

"Knock it off, it's too hot to be listening to you two bicker," Nami sighed and rubbed her head.

"Miss. Nami, would you like me to carry you?" Sanji asked, attempting to hide how fatigued he himself was.

"We're here," Robin stated and sure enough, they were. "This castle is very old; I would place it at almost a thousand years if not more going by the structure and the amount of deterioration it has been through." She squinted towards the top of the castle her eyes scanning as they brought their way down to the large, eaten away wooden door. Vines covered the building way past the roof, causing the castle to look almost as if the foliage were eating it. Then again, they were in the New World that meant it highly probable that the vines were in fact eating the castle. "I would say it has been at least five hundred years since someone properly maintained the castle, less if there was some kind of war."

"Is it safe?" Zoro asked from behind the group. His arms crossed in front of his chest as he studied the large structure.

"With castles this old there will always be traps that have yet to be triggered."

"Miss. Robin is so smart!" Sanji cooed, his pupils dilating into little hearts as he twirled around.

"I wonder where the treasure is- Luffy, Usopp, where are you going‽" Nami called out as the two boys made their way up the stairs and through the wooden door.

Relief crossed their features as soon as they entered the stone building and Usopp turned towards the others, "get in here! It's so much cooler than outside." He sneezed softly and shook his head, "If not a bit dusty."

"If you wish for treasure, Miss. Navigator, you should head to the lower levels." Robin informed her crewmate as she scanned the golden interior. "It would interest you to know that the walls have gold imbedded in them."

Luffy, Usopp and Nami turned towards her, "really‽"

"Yes, but I would caution against taking any of the gold out of the walls. It would cause instability in the structure and we will all probably be crushed to death on impact."

"Down we go!" Usopp said with a forced gusto, leading Nami to a flight of stairs.

"Keep your hands off Miss. Nami, you shit-sniper!" Sanji snapped, kicking his foot out to hit Usopp in the head, but the sniper was quicker and dodged the attack, taking the stairs two at a time. Luffy, not wanting to be left out of the fun ran down behind Usopp, his laughs and Usopp's screams echoing through the narrow staircase.

Zoro slowly made his way down the stairs, a small frown trained on his face as he looked around, an unsettling feeling rising in his chest. He moved to the side, allowing Robin to pass in front of him, his hand coming out to stop Sanji from passing him as the cook descended behind her. "What is your problem, shit-head?" Sanji sneered, "Scared of the dark?"

"Keh, as if something like that could scare me. I'm not Usopp," Zoro retorted, "do you feel anything weird? Like something is out of place?"

Sanji snorted, "yeah, your head. Now get out of the way so that I can help my gorgeous Miss. Nami find her treasure." Sanji ducked under Zoro's arm and started towards where the others had gathered at the bottom of the staircase.

"It's so dark in here, I can barely see anything," Usopp complained from Luffy's left, his hand lightly trailing against the walls as they moved inward. He gripped the back of Luffy's shirt in his other hand, intent on keeping his friend in close proximity. It would be a disaster if they were to lose him in the castle, who knows what sort of trouble the rubber teen would get into. Usopp's hand met with empty space, "there is a room here. Sanji, do you have a match on you? Maybe there is a torch somewhere."

There was the sound of the match meeting paper before a tiny flame gently illuminated the corridor in which the group stood. "Try not to touch anything; there is no way to know the type of traps that can still be activated." Robin advised as her eyes adjusted to the dim lighting. "There is a torch right above the door, Mr. Cook." She added, following Luffy, Nami and Usopp into the large room Usopp found.

"You think there are traps‽" Luffy asked his archeologist excitedly, "Usopp! We need to explore!"

"We really don't," Usopp protested, but did not fight as his friend pulled him towards another room connected to the one they were standing in.

"Keep an eye out for anything that might be treasure!" Nami called to them as they disappeared from view.

"The treasures you are seeking will most likely be rigged," Robin warned the younger girl as she passed her hand gently across an etching in the wall.

"It's Luffy and Usopp, they'll be fine," Nami said airily, waving her hand as way of dismissal. She huffed, and folded her arms, "there's nothing down here."

There was the sound of rumbling echoing through the room right before the room began to shake. Bits of stone fell from the ceilings onto their heads as Luffy's exuberant laughter and Usopp's fearful screams filtered into the room.

Zoro cursed and quickly followed Sanji out of the room towards the sound, Robin and Nami right behind them.

"Luffy! I am going to kill you! I swear on my mother's grave I am going to hog tie you and dump you into the freaking ocean the moment we leave this island!"

"What did you guys' do‽"

"We found a bunch of stuff!" Luffy exclaimed, grinning widely as he pointed behind himself to all of the gold piled on the floors and adorning the walls.

"We almost got _killed_ ," Usopp hissed, throwing his hand to the right and left of him where there were arrows stuck into the wall, broken bits of stone, and broken clawed traps scattered about the place. He ran behind Zoro and Sanji, feeling it safer behind them than in the middle of the room where there was the possibility of more traps still.

"Well, since you two are alive I think the most reasonable thing to do is gather all of the treasure and get back to the Sunny." Nami nodded her head as she examined the stuff lying around them, "Luffy, Zoro, Sanji, you guys get to work gathering all of the gold and anything that looks like we can get money for. Robin, could you watch over them while Usopp and I check upstairs for more treasure?"

"Sure thing, Miss. Navigator." Robin smiled and leaned against the wall behind her getting comfortable, her bright eyes scanning the room, watching for any possible traps that may remain.

Zoro rolled his eyes at the ceiling, muttering angrily under his breath as Sanji skipped and twirled around doing Nami's bidding. Luffy, while not completely ignoring what Nami said, was merely staring in wonder and laughing excitedly at all of the things they revealed as the other two lifted up piece after piece of treasure and placed them in rugs, and any type of cloth they found that they could to carry their goods in.

Usopp, merely glad to be free of the trap infested basement, was up the stairs before Nami had even finished giving instructions to the others.

Zoro kneeled on the floor, placing the treasure surrounding him onto a sheet that lay by his feet. He reached out to touch the last treasure in front of him, only to be stopped by a hand protruding from the floor. He looked up questioningly towards Robin who had a small smile on her face. "Don't take that one, it's trapped." He glanced down at the item again, merely shrugging and standing up, gathering the cloth in his hands.

"Luffy, step away from there," Robin commanded, her hands popping from the wall and holding Luffy in place. He had gone towards a golden religious statue, one that was obviously booby-trapped.

"Robin, let me go!" Luffy fought stubbornly against Robin's hands.

"If you touch that statue we could all be in serious danger," She explained firmly, her hands squeezing his shoulders before letting him go.

"Oh," He glanced at it and shrugged, "okay."

"Let's get going," Sanji threw a bag towards Luffy and another one towards Zoro before dusting off his pants and picking up his own bundle, "Miss. Robin shouldn't be in this dusty place any longer and it would be rude to keep Miss. Nami waiting."

Luffy cheered running forward, bag in hand, towards the stairs leading to the first floor. However, his foot caught a loose stone causing him to smash head first into the religious statue that Robin had warned him off of a mere few minutes earlier. He groaned, rubbing his head and squinting in confusion at the statue that had not moved. Had Robin been mistaken?

"Luffy, move!" Zoro grabbed Luffy by the back of his shirt and pulled him out of the way just as the statue began to come to life.

Luffy's eyes widened, "that's so cool! Hey! Mr. Statue, do you wanna be on my- "

"NO!" Sanji shoved Luffy and Zoro forward, making sure that Robin was ahead of him before racing up the stairs towards Nami and Usopp who had begun screaming.

Usopp and Nami met them at the foot of the stairs both frantic and holding on to each other, "what the hell did you guys do‽" They both exclaimed, quickly following the others out of the castle as several statues began gaining on them.

Usopp took the lead, his sling shot in hand as he lead the group back out of the castle, "these statues suddenly came to life while Nami and I were searching one of the rooms. Freakiest thing I have seen since Thriller Bark. What the hell happened?"

"Luffy fell into a statue that he wasn't supposed to touch," Sanji grunted, "take one if these would you?"

Usopp stopped and slid his slingshot over his shoulder before relieving Sanji of one of the bags. The two of them stopping had caused them to lose the crew. This meant that the statues that they had lost were on their heels once more. "Separate, we need to get back to the ship before they get to us."

He took the right while Sanji took the left, both disappearing through the trees and shrubbery just as a guard of statues ran into the clearing where they had been just seconds before. Confused, the statues stood, moving their stone bodies from left to right. However, it was no use; none of the Straw Hats could be found. Resolutely, the statues decided to head back to the castle, satisfied that they had scared off the intruders.

o0o

Sanji ran, his long legs moving quickly as he jumped gracefully over fallen trees. He stopped, the ocean expanding in front of his eyes, the Thousand Sunny, bobbing happily in the water. The others, already having found the ship, were searching for their friends from the safety of the Sunny's railings. The chanced a glance behind himself and noted that the statues that had been after their blood where now nowhere to be seen. Sanji had hoped that didn't mean that they were after Usopp. He merely shrugged and lit a cigarette, sucking in a calming breath before heading back to the Thousand Sunny with the bag of treasure thrown over his shoulder.

o0o

Usopp ran, the sack of treasure he relieved Sanji of slung over his left shoulder, his trusty slingshot in his right hand. He swerved, first to the left then the right, never running in a straight line in an attempt to make himself a more difficult prey. He chanced a look behind himself and stopped short, his shoulders sagging in relief when he noticed that none of the statues were following him. However, there was another issue at hand to replace being chased by bloodthirsty statues. He was lost.

Usopp sighed, placing both the treasure and his slingshot on the ground. He squinted, glaring up at the sun, shielding his eyes. "The sun rises in the East and sets in the West… I can't remember if it's different in the New World or not." His eyes lit up upon remembering a fact. "I can make a compass and find my way back to the Sunny!"

He kneeled in the dirt and pulled his messenger bag over his head to lay it in front of him. He slipped his hand inside, biting his tongue in concentration as he looked for the old sewing needle he kept in there for cases of emergency.

"Yes!" He pulled the needle out of the bag and attached it to his shirt, once again moving his hand inside his bag, this time for a magnet. Unfortunately, for him, the last time he cleaned out his bag he accidentally left the magnet on his desk, never replacing it back into his bag.

"What am I going to do now?" He muttered to himself, pushing a lock of hair from his eyes. Usopp allowed himself to fall back against the tree behind him and hit his head against it, closing his eyes, "think, Usopp. You know this!"

"If you don't have a magnet… you can use wool to magnetize a needle… or silk? No, not silk, just wool. You rub the material for… gah! I can't remember!" Usopp ran his fingers through his hair pulling on the strands lightly. "10...60...90...30...100...70...100...100 times! Yes, that's it!"

He took the needle from his shirt and rubbed it vigorously on the inside of his messenger bag. His eyes glanced to the ground, looking for a suitable puddle to lean the needle on. Usopp then stood, his needle well magnetized, and plucked a leaf off the lowest branch of the tree.

Usopp yawned, slowly walking towards the small puddle he had noticed was ripping. He kneeled, placing the leaf in the middle and then the needle on top of it. Slowly he turned the leaf in the water and backed away, watching anxiously as it swirled in the water. The Sniper stared up towards the sky as the needle came to a stop, his eyes squinting up at the setting sun.

"Okay so assuming it's the same in the New World, that way would be West, which means," he twisted his body towards the way the top of the needle was pointing. "That would mean that that is the North." He closed his eyes in thought, "the ship is in the North East which means that I would have to go that way."

The Sniper nodded to himself, happy to know the path he would need to take. He nimbly extracted the needle from the leaf and wiped it on his pants before placing it in his pocket. He stood and brushed his pants off. If he hurried, he could make it as night completely falls.

"Ow!" Usopp complained, stopping short to slap his hand against the back of his neck and wincing. "Stupid bug," he muttered as he bent down to pick up his messenger bag and the treasure bag. He gripped the handle of his slingshot and made his way back to the Thousand Sunny.

Little did Usopp know, in a few days time, he would be knocking at dealth's door merely because of said stupid bug.

* * *

 **Hello, Everyone!**

 **I hope you enjoyed this chapter! If you did: Favorite, Alert and/or leave a review!**

 **Keep it classy, make good choices, and see you next time!**

 **Best,**

 **Chandlure**


	2. Initial Phase: 5 Days Later

**Initial Phase: Five Days Later**

Usopp sighed, the sound carrying his vexation across the dining area, but none of his crew mates noticed. His long thin fingers tapped absentmindedly against the green cloth adoring the table as he looked down at his drawing in his lap, eyebrows knitted together in concentration. He frowned and tilted his head to the side as he glared at the drawing of his mother. It showed her, as she was, right before she got ill, and he had been working on it for the better part of the day. To the naked eye, it looked finished, but to Usopp, he knew something was missing from the piece. Slowly, his eyes roved down the page, but no matter where he looked, or how critically, he could not pinpoint the problem. A surge of anger ran though him, and he let a harsh breath out, slapping the pads cover shut and carelessly slipping his pencil into his hair.

He pulled his googles off his head, placed them beside his dinner plate, and leaned back tiredly while shaking his head. If the picture was missing something and Usopp could not find it, that meant he forgot something about his mother and that did not bode well with him. He breathed heavily through his nostrils and leaned forward to rest his chin on his hand. Leant to the side, he was able to catch sight of clouds happily floating in the sky through the kitchen window. He gave himself a moment to study them, but even the whimsical shapes did nothing to improve his mood.

He was startled from his reverie by the sound of his fork scraping against his plate and falling to the floor. He huffed and turned in his chair to glare at Luffy. The Straw-Hat Captain was eyeing Usopp's last potato as if it were a juicy steak, the remnants of Usopp's chicken hanging from his mouth. His long rubber arm was stretched, slowly inching towards its goal. "Hey!" Luffy exclaimed, his black eyes glaring into Usopp's own when the Sniper suddenly rose from his position, sketchbook in hand and shoved the rest of the potato into his mouth. Usopp's reflexes have become infinitely better since joining the Straw Hats'. Had they not, he would not eat. Well... he would not eat _a lot_ at any rate.

Usopp left his sketch pad beside his goggles on the island and began to gather the dishes and cups from the other members, placing them in a basin at the foot of the table. In the background, he could hear Sanji giving Luffy a resounding 'I said 'no', Shit-Captain!' when asked for more food. Chopper was sat beside Nami happily finishing off the rest of his meal, away from the prying hands of Luffy. Bits of potato, corn and carrot stuck to his fur along with some of the gravy that accompanied their meat, but he was smiling as if he had just been given the world's biggest supply of cotton candy.

Usopp patted the young reindeer's hat as he passed by, shoving a bread-stick in his mouth as he went for more of the dirty dishes. "Guys, why don't we go look for those Nargles I told you about last week? A few of my markers went missing and I suspect that they are behind it." He could not help but chuckle and Luffy and Chopper's elation. Sometimes it was just _too_ easy to keep them entertained.

"Hey, Usopp, do you think that the Nargles could've been responsible for the lotion I've misplaced?" Chopper asked innocently, before taking a tentative lick at his hooves.

Out of the corner of his eye, Usopp caught Sanji's reaction. While he reached for Brooke's plate, he watched suspiciously as the Cook's cheeks began to take on a fevered appearance. The Sniper raised an eyebrow in a way that said, 'are you serious?' before he snorted and shook his head, placing the last pieces of dinnerware in the bucket to be washed.

"Yeah, Chopper, I am sure the _Nargles_ are the ones responsible for that." His voice was layered with sarcasm, which earned him a glare from the guilty party, but Chopper did not seem to notice. He merely nodded his head as he began to think about where the Nargles could have taken his lotion to.

Usopp shook his head and took the bucket in his hands past the serving island and into the dimly lit kitchen. He hung a right and placed the bucket beside the sink, and slid over, reaching across to turn on the tap.

Over the dish drying rack hung several dish towels, partially stiff. He took the closest one to him, running it under the tap. Turning the tap off, he rung out the rag and grabbed the crumb shovel from its place under the sink and walked back over to the dining area. Everyone else had already stepped outside, but he knew that Sanji would be back in after he had his afternoon smoke.

Usopp allowed his thoughts to wander while he wiped off the table, careful to get the crumbs into the shovel. When finished, he gave the chairs the same treatment. As he was working on the last chair, the door to the kitchen opened, and Sanji walked through. The Cook stopped short when he noticed that Usopp was there as well. "You didn't have to clean up," he said. Despite those words, he looked very appreciative.

The younger boy shrugged, and slowly made his way back to the kitchen. He passed the sink and dropped the rag there on the way to the trashcan. "It's fine. I like to clean when I have something to think about."

Sanji took his place by the sink and turned on the tap, rinsing off the rag and replacing it on its hook. "Want to talk about it?" He plugged up the drain and began to run water in the sink and swirling soap in so that suds would appear.

Usopp tapped the crumb sweeper over the trash and allowed the crumbs to fall in before kicking the can back under the counter and placing the crumb shovel back on the hook. He hip-checked the door and leaned back against the counter, blowing bangs out of his face, and crossed his arms over his chest. "I think I am beginning to forget, and I don't like it."

Sanji frowned, reaching over to turn off the tap. He pushed his bangs out of his eyes and turned his attention to Usopp, leaning his hip against the counter. "What are you talking about?"

"My mother."

"Oh," Sanji let out a breath and nodded to himself, "it happens."

"Well, I don't like it. All I have left of my mother are memories, once I forget, well, then she really will be gone, wouldn't she?"

Sanji breathed through his nose and turned back towards the sink. He reached over and took a couple dishes from the bin and placed them in the soapy water. "Come here and help me with the dishes while I tell you a story." Usopp pushed himself off the counter and walked over to where Sanji was, taking a dry dish towel in hand.

"I come from a family with 5 children. There is my older sister Reiju, and then came me and my brothers, quadruplets, with me third in line to be King of Germa Kingdom. My father, wanting his own little personal army, gave us genetic enhancements, in the hope that we would develop superhuman abilities. He forced my mother to undergo surgery to make the enhancements happen invitro, it was extremely painful for her. My mother, because she loved all of us dearly and thought that we should grow up to be normal humans, with normal emotions, did everything she could to stop the enhancements effects on us. She even went as far as to take a drug to counteract the surgery my father had forced her through, putting herself through even more pain."

Sanji handed him the dish he had been washing, and reached into the water for another one, "in the end, however, the drug only affected me, and it weakened my mother to the point where it eventually took her life. For the longest time before she died, she had been bedridden in our medical ward. Reiju, and I would visit her from time to time. To cheer her up, I once brought her a meal that I prepared. At that time, I was horrible at cooking, but she ate it so happily, and said it was delicious. That was one of the last times I saw her. She had died not too long after. In many ways, she is the reason I became a cook, I wanted to become a great chef for her."

Sanji fell silent for a moment, his visible eye shining with unshed tears. He cleared his throat before continuing. "Unfortunately, right after my mother died is when my father began to train my brothers and myself. They excelled in their training and they evolved, I did not. Due to the drug my mother took, I stayed human and could not do the extraordinary feats my brothers could. It made me a target and they bullied me relentlessly. Father never stopped it, he hated that I was so weak."

Usopp scowled, "that's ridiculous, you aren't weak at all!" He took the next dish from Sanji and dried it angrily, keeping his eyes on the plate.

Sanji smiled sadly, "to him, I was. One day, he caught me feeding a rat in my room, he had become somewhat of a pet of mine. He yelled at me and told me that I needed to stop cooking and start training harder if I wanted to catch up with my brothers. He threw my food and rat out of my bedroom window. However, I tried my best, I trained hard- it was never enough. It would never have been enough. My only reprieve was Reiju, who would often tend to my injuries after.

"My father, one he realized that I would never be able to live up to what he wanted, decided to erase my existence completely. He shoved an iron mask on me and threw me in the dungeon." Sanji gave a harsh laugh, "even threw a funeral for me, and said I died in a tragic accident."

Usopp sucked in a breath and worried his lip, taking another dish from Sanji and drying it quickly before placing it on the rack with the others. They stayed quiet for what seemed like an eternity for Usopp, washing and drying the dishes. It was only after the last dish was washed and Sanji moved on to the cups and Usopp had moved to place the dishes back in their respective cabinet that Sanji continued his story.

"I have no clue how long I was stuck in that dungeon, all I knew was that the mask would come off for me to eat, and then it would come back on. Thankfully, I was able to get some books while I was down there, and that was how I learned about the All Blue. It was my one reprieve from it all.

"Somehow my brothers found out about me, they must have heard the guards talking or something, and they came down to 'practice' on me every chance they got. Reiju, she came down and helped me when I was hurt, but she made it clear she was not on my side. I don't blame her, self-preservation on her part was a smart move. She still needed to live in the castle and was under my father's command.

Eventually, around the sixth month of me being down there, the Kingdom traveled from the Red Sea into the East Blue. When I found out, I told my sister that I wanted to escape and become a chef. My sister, kind in many ways but hid it so well, broke me free and allowed me to escape." Sanji let out a harsh laugh, "and would you know it. I ran into my father as I was escaping."

"You were okay though, you are here." Usopp said quietly, his heart squeezing in his chest. "You got away."

"He let me get away."

"After all he went through to make believe you were dead?"

"All he wanted was that I never mention the family I came from, fair enough." Sanji snorted. "I escaped onto a ship known as the 'Orbit' and wound up working on there for two years before the Old Geezer and his crew attacked the ship. Both ships wind up going under in an intense storm, and the rest, well, is history I suppose." Sanji's hands had stopped washing the cups and were merely lying in the soapy water as he spoke. He looked so sad and vulnerable in that moment that Usopp could not help but want to give him some form of comfort.

Usopp put down the dish rag and reached into the water to take Sanji's hand but felt awkward and merely laid his hand beside Sanji's. It did seem to have the desired effect since Sanji smiled, much to Usopp's immense relief.

"Anyway, the point of the story is that my mother died when I was very young. At times I would just sit down and write down what I remember about her. I have so much trouble remembering- a mixture of time and trauma, I think." Sanji took a deep breath and rubbed his hand over Usopp's quickly before picking up the cup he dropped and going back to cleaning. Usopp took his hand from the water and dried it on the rag before accepting the cup.

"I found a technique recently that seems to help. I have trouble remembering details when I try to force myself to remember. Try to remember her face off hand, her voice - it is near impossible. However, I have photographs of her up in my locker and sometimes during night watch, I take them out and look at them. When I am relaxed and just stare at the photos for a bit I can remember almost everything. The sound of her voice, her smell- it is as if I never left."

"Do you think that would work for me?" Usopp asked hopefully, taking the last cup from Sanji and grabbing the others to place them on the cup holder near where Sanji made coffee and tea. "I have been working on a picture of my mother, but something is missing- I can't put my finger on it and it's bothering me so much. I've never had this much trouble before."

"Why don't you come spend night watch with me tomorrow and we can try it?" Sanji suggested while dumping the eating utensils into the soapy water.

"I'd like that," Usopp said brightly, smiling widely at the older boy.

Sanji grabbed the rag before Usopp could pick it up again and began to shoo him away from the kitchen. "Now go find those Nargles with Luffy and Chopper. I have stuff to finish in here and you are only in the way!"

"Hey!" Usopp pouted, causing Sanji to smile brightly.

"Go! Have fun, I am almost done anyway and then I will be out with an afternoon snack for you guys."

"Okay, fine, I'm going." Usopp raised his hands in the air and turned, making his way out of the kitchen. He paused only when he got to the door to look back at his friend, studying the blonde, who had gone back to doing the rest of the dishes. Sanji's fringe hung in front of his eyes and he whistled a soft tune to himself as he worked, bobbing his head slightly. "Oi, Sanji."

Sanji's head whipped up, not realizing that the younger boy was still with him in the galley. "Yeah, Usopp?"

"Thank you." Usopp pushed the door the rest of the way and walked through, leaving a chuckling Sanji alone.

Sanji placed the last of the utensils in the dish rack before rubbing his hands on his apron. He took off the apron, placing it on its hook. When he went for his inventory book he noticed that 9t was not in its normal place. Frowning, he scanned the kitchen looking for his book. He finally spotted it on the island next to Usopp's abandoned sketchpad and goggles. He hummed to himself before walking over to the island to grab his book. He paused, his eyes catching Usopp's sketchbook. Sanji knew it was wrong to peek without the Sniper's permission- that would be like reading his journal, but after their conversation, Sanji was curious about Usopp's mother.

Sanji quickly looked over his shoulder to make sure no one was entering. Gently, he touched his fingers to the cover of the pad and slid them down to the dog-eared page on the left, flipping the pad open to the middle. The page he landed on was blank, so he moved a couple of pages back until he landed on the one of Usopp's mother.

Sanji gasped in awe. The sketch was so life like, it was almost as if you could hear her laughing. Usopp had drawn her so that her head was leaning to the side as she listened intently to whomever was speaking, hair falling in her face in her mirth. Her mouth was stretched into a grin that was undeniably Usopp's and her eyes sparkled in a way that Sanji had only seen a few times in Usopp's own eyes. He could not stop the giggle that bubbled from his lips when he noticed that she shared Usopp's nose.

To Sanji, an objective party, the sketch looked perfect- better than most photographs even. It had been done mostly in charcoal, save for her eyes and hair, which held an emerald-green hue. Sanji stared at it for a moment longer before closing the pad. Tapping the cover lightly with the pads of his fingers, he mulled over his conversation with Usopp and the picture he had just seen. Perhaps, it is not about what is missing from the picture, but what is missing from Usopp himself.

o0o

Usopp did not have to look far to find the others. Peering over the railing he could see Nami, Robin, Franky and Brooke surrounding several bags of gold that they had procured several days ago. Nami was carefully spilling the gold out onto a checkered blanket while the others stared on. Luffy stood on one of the swings with Chopper on his shoulder, their mouths were hung open wide in awe at all the treasure spread out before them. Zoro was sleeping against the mast, not a care in the world for all the gold spread out on deck.

"Sorry I was taking so long, I was helping Sanji in the kitchen," Usopp announced himself, forearms against the rail as he glared down at them. "Are you guys ready to go look for those Nargles?" The others paid him no mind, too caught up in the treasure. He sighed, long sufferingly, and began his descent to the first floor. He stopped at the bottom step and squinted; a blinding light was reflecting off the treasure causing him to be momentarily stunned. He blinked heavily and looked to the ground. When he did so, he noticed a tiny object laying innocently beside his feet. He bent down and picked it up, rolling it in the palm of his hand. He frowned, staring at it, feeling entranced by the tiny jewel. It was no bigger than the tip of his pinky and held the emerald green color like his mother's eyes. He smiled, remembering his mother's face, and how her eyes used to light up when he told her one of his many tales.

A sudden flash of hot white pain bloomed in his head, causing his vision to blur and the jewel to drop to the floor. He stepped off the bottom step and kneeled with his hands pressed firmly against his eyes to dispel the sudden disabling migraine and dizziness that overcame him. He took a deep breath through his mouth, held it, and then let it out slowly before repeating the action. The pain slowly began to ebb away with each breath he took, and soon enough, it became a manageable throb.

Taking one last breath, he slowly opened his eyes, blinking them against the blinding afternoon sun. The voices of his crew seemed distorted despite how close he was to them, but they seem to be blissfully unaware of his predicament, which was just fine by him. Their eyes still trained on the treasure in front of them. He shook his head and picked up the emerald he dropped from where it was stuck between two of the floorboards at his feet. He stared at the jewel for a moment longer before shoving it into his back pocket. They wouldn't miss it.

He stood, ignoring the sudden aching pain of his legs as he did so. "Guys, ready to look for those Nargles?" he tried again, to no avail.

Usopp tutted, estimating that he had a good fifteen to twenty minutes before Nami got sick of them staring at and touching all her treasure. He nodded to himself, and slowly made his way back up the stairs to the washroom above the Library. He walked into the Library and slowed down by the bay windows to watch the dust particles dance in the basking light of the sun before he began to climb the ladder to the washroom. The climb up took him longer than usual and by the time he finally entered the room where the sink and toilet were, he was slightly out of breath and just a bit sweaty.

The room was dark and a bit chilly causing him to shiver. Not even the sun beating down on the ceiling had warmed the tiled room. Shakily, Usopp reached into his pocket and procured a pack of matches. He lit one and used it to light the candle beside the toilet door. The flame cast a soft orange glow, the light relaxing.

He walked into the bathing area and pushed the shower's curtain aside and turned the showerhead on. The water took a while to heat up and he hated showering in cold water. Slowly, walking back out to the toilet, he pulled off his shirt, and undid his pants before toeing off his shoes and socks. On his way to the sink, he deposited the lot on the toilet.

Stopping in front of the sink, he smiled a bit at his reflection. Usopp had grown a lot in the last two years, they all had. It was almost unbelievable, to some degree, how much they grew. He watched as the candle flickered, casting distorted shadows over his face. The play of light and shadow made it seem as if there were things present in the mirror that weren't there. It reminded him of the old games he used to play with his friends at school.

"Light a candle and say, 'Bloody Mary in the Mirror' she will show up and rip your face from your skull." He snorted at the silliness of his childhood games, shaking his head, because really, it was silly. "That didn't stop me from being too scared to try it though." He mused, "Perhaps now...?" He stared intently at the mirror, the shadows and light dancing across the glass giving the moment a more haunted ambiance. A face appeared above his shoulder, all hollowed eyes and stringy shoulder length green hair, and he slammed his eyes shut- "just my imagination playing tricks on me! I-I did not even say anything, so no one is there! When one stares at something long enough their brain starts making imagines because... well, things are ever-changing! Why would it register the same thing if it already knows it's there... hahaha?"

He quickly turned his back to the mirror and bent down to grab his pants, rooting in his pocket for more matches. He lit another match and held the flame to the candles on either side of the sink and rushed into the washroom to light the ones adorning the walls. He sighed, feeling relieved and threw the used match into the toilet; it was much brighter in the room now. No one would come and rip his face off as he washed.

Wearily, he looked over his shoulder back at the mirror, his image stared back at him nervously. "Perhaps playing that game isn't the best idea. We are in the Grand Line after all. Here, there may very well be someone in the mirror waiting to rip my face off."

A shiver ran down his spine and he ran into the shower room, slamming the door shut that lead to the toilet and sink to protect himself from any monsters hiding in the dark shadows. He quickly jumped under the shower and gripped the knobs to the water tightly as he felt himself begin to slip. He straightened himself, taking a deep breath, began to chastise himself, "I'm just freaking myself out, I always do that."

The Sniper took a deep breath and walked into the shower, letting out a sigh of content when the water began to cascade down his back. A heavy wave of fatigue began to sink deeply into his bones, almost as if the water was casting a sleeping spell over him. He closed his eyes tilting his chin against his collar-bone, allowing the water to wash over him.

Feeling his legs about to give out, Usopp allowed himself to slowly slide down the wall until he was firmly sitting, the water now pounding over his head and shoulders. The pain from earlier was beginning once again, and a wave of nausea hit him, the room span violently. He pressed his face into his knees and closed his eyes tightly.

He briefly contemplated the fact that him freaking out over some non-existent thing ripping his face off was probably the reason he was in his current state, as he has never truly been ill before. The sudden influx of adrenaline had to be the explanation for what was going on.

As soon as it had arrived, the pain vanished. With his head no longer spinning, Usopp blinked owlishly around the washroom. He stayed firmly on the ground, as he did not yet trust himself to move, but straightened out his legs. He closed his eyes, and took calming breaths, clearing his mind of everything.

Normally, when he felt stressed, clearing his mind helped him feel better. However, he could still feel the cling of nausea in his weary body, and it was distracting him.

He tutted and opened his eyes, clearing his mind wouldn't work today. He would just need to- "Ugh!" With a sudden burst, the once warm water turned cold, causing him to cry out in shock. Reaching up, he gripped the knobs above him and pulled himself shakily to his feet.

He slipped, turning the cold-water on full force. "Son of a-!" The water hit him directly in the face and he stood there in the stunning cold, before cursing and turning off the cold water completely. His legs shook, and he needed to lean against the wall to hold himself upright under the now semi-tolerable water. He rubbed his head, "what is going on?" he muttered to himself, mussing his hair before he reached over to move the showerhead, so the water would cover him more thoroughly. He obviously could not trust himself to stand on his own.

Usopp stood against the wall, staring at the floor and unmoving as the water fell upon him, until there was a knock on the door alerting him that the afternoon snack was being served. He let out a long breath, before telling Chopper that he would be out in a couple of minutes.

Grabbing the soap, he pushed himself off the wall and quickly ran the bar over his body, and through his thick hair. He rinsed before shutting off the water completely. Usopp shook his soaked hair out and walked over to the towel rack on the other side of the room. He grabbed his towel from beside Luffy's and wrapped it tightly around himself. He was still shivering from the cold, and felt even more tired and weak than before, but he could stand to get a snack with his crew. He took his time drying himself off, and merely left the towel around his neck to catch the water dripping from his hair when he finished. Walking over to the toilet, he grabbed his underwear and pants, pulling them on.

After taking time to put on his socks and shoes, he allowed himself another cursory glance in the mirror. Although, he could not have been in the shower more than forty minutes, he looked as if he had aged a few years. There were bags under his eyes, his cheek were hallowed, and he could hear, now that the water wasn't running, a wheezing to his normally healthy breathing.

He shook his head, now realizing that it is not just an adrenaline rush causing him to feel the way he was. He very rarely had headaches (that Luffy didn't cause!) or felt nausea or lost strength in his body. In fact, that was something that did not happen at all unless he was in a battle and had been seriously injured. However, he had not been seriously injured- not since their last major battle over two months ago.

Truthfully, if he still felt ill tomorrow he would have to go see Chopper, and they would have to notify the crew. He could have caught something from one of the recent islands they were on. He groaned, the last thing he wanted was everyone worried about him- they would never leave him alone then!

"Usopp! Are you okay?" Usopp jumped at the voice and pushed himself away from the sink. He looked down to see Chopper standing at the foot of the ladder. He roughly ran the towel over his hair and threw it into the used towel basket to be washed.

"Fine! I just lost track of time, I'll be right down!" He hollered, he checked himself one last time in the mirror before throwing on his shirt and sliding down the latter to greet a curious and worried Chopper.

"Are you sure?" Chopper gave Usopp a curious sniff, "you smell a bit funny."

"Well, that is just rude." Usopp scoffed, chuckling and picking up the reindeer. "I'm positive! Now, let's go get some snacks before Luffy eats them all." He smiled warmly and marched out of the Library and down the stairs with Chopper in his arms.

Discretely, Chopper sniffed Usopp and frowned, but Usopp pretended that he hadn't noticed. He could keep this to himself for now. No need to bother the crew needlessly, it was snack time after all.

o0o

It turned out to be a beautiful evening. A crescent moon hung mischievously in the cloudless, star filled sky, resembling a Cheshire Cat smile against the rippling sea water. The air was warm and welcoming, drawing the Straw Hats from their various rooms of activities to spend time in the unique peacefulness that was their evening. Sanji had even gone as far as to get Franky and Zoro to bring the Galley table outside so that the crew may enjoy dinner on the lawn.

After dinner, Usopp happily played with Luffy and Chopper on deck. Climbing up the walls and ropes, searching under crates, digging holes and jumping out of various hiding places to scare each other.

By the time night fell completely upon them he had all but forgotten his short bout of illness earlier that day. He felt happily exhausted now and only wanted to crawl into his bunk and sleep for eternity. However, Chopper had watch that evening so Usopp crawled up to the crow's nest instead of into his bunk to hang out with the small reindeer. He always stayed with him and told him stories or played games to help pass the time.

When it was finally time for Robin's watch, around two in the morning, Usopp carried a sleepy Chopper to their room. Luffy was snoring contently in the hammock above his own, and both Sanji and Zoro somehow ended up on the floor again. Based on the twisted sheets on the top bunk, it looks as if Sanji had a bad dream and fell into Zoro's bunk which resulted on them both falling on the floor. They looked comfortable enough, however, so Usopp let them be.

Franky was nowhere to be found, but that was hardly a surprise. He was either upstairs with Robin or snoozing in the factory downstairs. Brooke was sitting in the corner of the room in a soft chair that Usopp could not remember being there before. He was not asleep, unusual for the skeleton considering the late hour.

Usopp sighed, and pulled down the blanket in his bunk before slipping in. He hugged Chopper to his chest as he laid his head against his pillow. He pulled the blanket over them and snuggled into its comforting warmth. As soon as he settled in, he felt what little energy he had leave his body. He was asleep in mere minutes.

Unfortunately, he was not asleep for long. He awoke violently, and the stabbing pain in his head returned with a vengeance. He shifted in his bunk, transferring Chopper to legs so that he could lie more comfortably on his back. Usopp gasped, pain shooting across all the muscles in his body. He sat up, one hand reaching out to make sure Chopper didn't fall, the other pressing against his head.

"Usopp, you okay?" Luffy mumbled sleepily, his head popping up over the side of his own bunk to look down at his best friend. Brooke had shifted in his seat to lean forward in case something was wrong and Usopp needed help.

Usopp screwed his eyes shut and breathed heavily through his nose before answering. "I'm fine, just a bad dream. Go back to sleep."

"M'kay, night." In seconds, the straw-hat captain was snoring again, not a care in the world.

Chopper cracked open one of his eyes and stared at Usopp. "Are you okay?" he asked sleepily. "Just a bad dream," he reiterated before throwing himself back against his pillow and pulling Chopper more against him to keep him from falling out of the bunk. His head still pounded, but slowly sleep overtook him, and he decided not to worry too much about it. If he was ill, it was probably just some stupid little bug he caught. He would be better in the morning.

* * *

 **Hello, Everyone!**

 **I hope you enjoyed this latest chapter. If you did, Favorite, Alert and/or Leave a Review!**

 **Remember: keep it classy, make good choices and I hope to see you soon.**

 **Best,**

 **Chandlure**

 **PS: Am I the only one slightly confused as to why the washroom is above the Library? Seems like a dangerous place for one if you ask me.**


	3. Acute Phase Beginning: Days 6 and 7

**Acute Phase Beginning: Day Six and Seven**

"Oi, Usopp, are you okay?"

Usopp lifted his head from his fist and blinked at Sanji, before taking a moment to situate himself, and look around him before answering. The seats around him were vacant, but on the table lay dirty dishes save for his own which, surprisingly, had untouched food. Breakfast was over then. He cleared his throat, "I'm fine."

"Did you sleep well last night?" the Cook questioned, "you came in pretty late with Chopper." Sanji stood behind the island at the sink washing the pans from breakfast.

"I fell asleep as soon as I got into bed," Usopp responded before falling silent. Other than waking up in the middle of the night once, he slept like a log. Shaking his head, he offered Sanji a bright smile. "Heh, heh, I must've slept a bit too well!"

Sanji reached over and placed the pan he was washing on the drying board, his eyes roving over Usopp. "I've had days like that," he said carefully.

Usopp ran a hand through his hair and smiled lightly, "then you know what I mean, yeah? I'm sure after I get some fresh air I'll be good as new!"

Sanji offered him a smile that did not reach his eyes, "Would you like me to heat up your breakfast for you, so you can eat it outside?"

Usopp looked down at the food on his plate and felt his stomach twist in protest, "no. I'm not feeling hungry right now." Sanji narrowed his eyes as Usopp pushed away from the table and stood shakily to his feet. His fingers bit sharply into the edge of the table as he fought to keep his balance.

Not wanting Sanji to see the pain that crossed his features, Usopp leaned his head down so that his curls could block his face. Sanji, not one to miss a beat, cleared his throat, as he continued to watch the younger boy suspiciously, "go outside. I'll pack the food away for later."

Usopp straightened himself and forced a smile on his face. He pushed in his chair and left the Galley as quickly as his weak legs would take him. He could feel the burn of Sanji's eyes on his back as he went. Once outside on deck, he paused to think about his options. He could go back to the boys' cabin and sleep a bit more, he could really use it- the exhaustion weighing heavily in his bones, but that would lead to unnecessary questions that he did not want to answer. His factory it would be then, Franky had watch for most of the morning so that would give him the privacy he needed. He turned left and carefully began his descent downstairs. He would get the privacy he needed and could easily avoid those awkward questions that may arise. Afterall, he locked himself in the factory at least three times a week.

Slowly, he pushed open the door to the factory and closed it firmly behind him, leaning back heavily on the Adam wood. He sighed, pressing the back of his head to the door and running a shaky hand through his sweaty curls. The smell of cinnamon buns wafted through the open window behind Usopp's desk. It caused him to place a hand over his mouth and nose to keep himself from being sick, his stomach reacting aggressively to what would normally be a delicious smell for him. Keeping a hand over his mouth, he willed himself not to be sick as he walked over to the window and slammed it shut, cutting of the nauseating cinnamon scent.

Usopp fell limply into his desk chair and leaned forward so that he could lay his head against the cool surface of his desk. He felt very heated and weak, and his head seemed to decide that it was an opportune moment to play a very active drum solo. He screwed his eyes shut, and nuzzled his head into his arms.

He had a lot of work to get done. His pop greens needed cultivating, and he should find out what was going on with the new ammo he had created. What exactly was causing it to go off too early? Usopp did not know, but he will be damned it if would blow up in his hands again. Then, of course, he needed to spend some brotherly time with Luffy and Chopper before dinner, if only to keep Nami from killing them.

He pushed himself up onto his elbows, looking around blurrily he searched for the ammo that he left on his desk the morning before. Usopp caught sight of it on the far corner of his desk and reached towards it. However, his fingers could not quite reach so he dropped his hand to the desk to bring it back under his head. Perhaps a nap was in order. Yes, after a nap he will be back to his usual energetic self.

o0o

Sanji frowned from behind his glass as he watched Usopp from under his fringe. While the rest of the crew was inhaling their dinner as if it were the last they would ever eat, Usopp was pushing his around the plate with his fork. He looked half asleep and when he did bring the fork to his mouth, it was with a pained expression and the fork was void of food.

His eyes moved over to Zoro, who was chewing his food thoughtfully and watching the younger boy as he too had noticed Usopp's peculiar behavior. His had a hand around Luffy's wrist to keep the Captain from stealing his food, but when he let go, Luffy had instead went for Usopp's food. Zoro and Sanji frowned as Usopp made no move to stop him, or even seemed to notice what was happening. Odd, as Usopp never let Luffy near his food, not without a fight at any rate.

The more Sanji studied Usopp, the more he could see how 'out of it' the younger boy was. His eyes were glazed over, and a pained expression crossed his face whenever he so much as moved a finger. His breathing even seemed off to the point where he was panting. _What the hell was going on with the shit-sniper?_

While the others left the Galley, chatting happily amongst themselves, Usopp remained seated. Cautiously, Sanji took the plate from in front of Usopp, frowning deeply when the boy just stares ahead and gives him no acknowledgement. Zoro, who was picking up the dishes from the other side of the table and placing them in the bucket on the table, stopped what he was doing to watch the exchange, or rather, lack thereof.

Sanji reached over to touch his arm, "Usopp?"

Usopp did not answer him, causing Sanji to panic. "O-oi, Shit-Sniper!"

Zoro stopped putting the food ware in the bin and walked around the table to where Usopp was still sitting. He crouched beside Usopp, and shook his knee, "oi."

Usopp blinked and looked down at Zoro, "sorry. What were you saying?"

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Sanji snapped, standing up straight. He pulled a cigarette from his pocket and placed it between his lips. He expertly lit the cigarette before inhaling deeply.

Usopp pushed his chair back and stood up, "w-what are you talking about? I'm fine!" He turned away from them so that they would not see the pained expression on his face. His muscles ached in ways that did not seem possible to him, every movement he made was filled with an aching pain that he had not felt since he had begun to train during their two years apart.

He sent them a strained smile and pushed in his chair. Slowly, he began to move towards the door, aware that their eyes were still on him. He breathed heavily through his nose, feeling the dizziness as it began to wash over him, causing his legs to become wobbly. Suddenly, his legs gave out from under him, and he screwed his eyes shut, preparing for an impact that never came. He took a few calming breaths allowing Zoro to support him for a moment before he pulled away to stand unsteadily on his own feet.

"if you are sick you need to see Chopper," Sanji pressed. He threw his cigarette into the ashtray on the island and crossed his arms in front of his chest. Leaning his hip against the island, he glowered at Usopp from over Zoro's shoulder.

"I'm not sick," Usopp insisted, unconvincingly as his hands and voice were shaking. At Sanji and Zoro's stern glares he added, "I'm fine, _really_." He backed away from Zoro slowly, careful to school his expression to hide any pain he felt as he tried, once again, to make it to the door.

"Usopp," Zoro said firmly.

Frustration and anger crossed Usopp's face. He was feeling weak and just wanted to get out of the Galley. "I said I'm fine! Why can't you just leave me alone!?" He turned on his heel, and slowly made his way out of the Galley, slamming the door as he went.

o0o

It was closing in on the witching hour when Sanji's night watch was interrupted by the sound of scaping down below on deck, close to where the boys' cabin resided.

He poked his head out of the crows' nest, cigarette pressed between his lips, and looked down watching as Usopp stumbled about. The younger boy barely made it to the railing, his hands scrambling to grip the wood to keep himself upright. After a moment of fumbling, he sat himself on the barrier and looked out at the ocean. Normally, Sanji would have gone back inside as this was normal for Usopp to do, however, the boy was leaning much too forward for Sanji's comfort.

"Back it up a bit," Sanji chastised, jumping down from the crows' nest to land neatly by Usopp. He placed a hand on the Sniper's shoulder and pulled him back.

Had Usopp been feeling his usual self, he would have jumped and comically complained to Sanji about sneaking up on unsuspecting people. As it was however, he was barely able to give the Cook a look of reproach. He pulled himself back, wincing as he did do.

The Cook froze when he got a proper look at Usopp. The boy looked terrible. His cheeks were sunken, his skin pale, eyes glazed over and his breathing- well, what he was doing could hardly be considered breathing.

Usopp laughed weakly, "sorry if I bothered you. I was just taking in some fresh air. Seem to have a bit of trouble sleeping." His voice was worn, making what he said sound completely true, and false at the same time. "Shouldn't you be up in the crows' nest?"

Sanji eyed him as he lit a cigarette and leaned back against the railing beside Usopp. "Came down to see who was clever enough to break into the Sunny without me sensing them. Turns out, it was you!" He pushed back a strand of hair from his eyes and grinned cheekily at the boy beside him. His eyes still watching Usopp as if he would fall over the railing at any moment.

Usopp rolled his eyes at the Cook's antics. "Hardly counts as breaking in when I live on the ship, Idi- ", he took as gasp of breath and fell backwards off the railing. His fingers gripped into the wood, in a mostly failed attempt to keep him upright. "Shit," he cursed under his breath, and struggled back to his feet.

"What the hell has been going on with you, Longnose!?" Sanji hissed, bending down to help Usopp to his feet.

"I'm fine, it's just fatigue." Usopp insisted as he allowed the Cook to help him up.

"How long have you been feeling this way?"

"It's only been a day. If I feel like this tomorrow I will go to Chopper, okay?" Usopp sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. "But, I am sure that after a good nights' rest, I will be my usual annoying self."

A chuckle escaped Sanji's throat as he shook his head, "if you don't tell him tomorrow than I will."

Usopp murmured his agreement before stumbling away from Sanji, back towards the boys' cabin. He tripped again but Sanji, who was keeping a close eye on him, caught him. Sanji tutted, pulling Usopp's arm around his shoulder and half carrying him into the cabin.

"Just stay here the rest of the night," Sanji whispered. He leaned down to make sure Chopper was not in the bunk before placing Usopp there. Everyone tended to fall asleep where they landed, and he did not want to risk dropping Usopp on someone.

"Mmhmm," Usopp muttered, snuggling deeply into his pillows and blankets, immediately falling to sleep.

Sanji stared at Usopp a moment longer and then turned to leave. "Mr. Usopp is ill then? I was afraid so, he has been acting odd lately."

Sanji jumped and turned to glare at Brooke who was sitting on the low sofa in the middle of the room. Brooke's dark empty eyes glared back at him in the moonlit room, "why didn't you send him back to bed, Shitty-skeleton?"

"I assumed he was going to use the bathroom."

Sanji glowered at him before turning his back and storming out of the cabin and back to his post. He picked out the last cigarette from his pocket and lit it as he entered the crow's nest. He paced back and forth muttering to himself about Shit-Snipers and even Shittier-Skeletons.

Sanji did not get any sleep that evening after his shift. Instead of going to sleep, he would use the extra time to cook a big breakfast for the crew. He also prepared ingredients for smoothies for later that day. The unsettling twist in his stomach not leaving the entire time.

o0o

Sanji told Chopper.

It was around midday when Nami, Chopper and Luffy stormed into the factory with worried expressions marring their faces. They caught Usopp off guard, he was sitting on the floor with a marker in his mouth, and blueprints littering the floor around him. Nami's Clima-Tact was in his lap as he fussed with a screw, the screwdriver in his hand shaking.

"Usopp!" Nami glared down at him with her arms crossed in front of her generous chest.

"What?" he asked, not bothering to look up from the object in his weak grip.

She reached down and took the small circular piece from his hand and threw it onto his desk. Usopp growled under his breath and jumped up, he reached back to steady himself on the desk as dizziness settled in with his sudden active movement. "Sit down, you Idiot! You're sick!"

"I'm _fine_ , I don't need you to baby me."

Chopper pushed in front of Nami, "I need you to sit anyway, Usopp, in order to give you a physical," he chirped.

Usopp sighed and sat back down on the floor. It was all he could do to stop himself from rolling his eyes as Nami, Luffy and Chopper gathered around him with crossed arms and stern expressions. How Chopper, in his tiny stuffed animal-like form, seemed to tower over him, Usopp would never understand.

Usopp's hand, still shaking, ran through his hair as he stared back defiantly at his friends, "what?" Nami pulled out a mirror and held it in front of his face. He blinked at his image and looked up at her, "I'm sorry?"

"Look at yourself!" She insisted, pushing it closer to his face.

Usopp stared at his image in the mirror. Truth be told he looked like crap. His hair was a tangled mess; his skin had an even deeper yellowish hue than the day before, the whites of his eyes taking on the yellow color now as well. This puzzled Usopp. Sure, he was shakier than he felt earlier that day, but otherwise he felt much better today than most of the previous days. He felt almost normal, except for the shaking and dizzy spells with fast movement, but that could be attributed to him not drinking enough water, and eating less food, the last couple days.

Clearing his throat, he said, "I am quite handsome, I know." His attempt to lighten the mood did not fly. He got neither a smirk nor an eye roll.

"You're sick and you are in here working on your stupid little gadgets! You could _die_ , Usopp. Do you not realize that or are you just too stupid to care‽"

"Oh, don't be so dramatic," Usopp muttered, rolling his eyes. He might not look any better, but he sure felt it. Her statements of dying were over-dramatic, and that was _him_ talking.

"We have no idea what you have!" Nami insisted, "you could very well be dying or even have something that could kill us all! Did you even think of that? You could spread something to us that will take out the entire crew!"

Chopper placed his hooves on Usopp's left knee, "we're really worried about you! If you overexert yourself, you are likely to get even sicker!" A small syringe appeared in Chopper's hoof, _just where had be been hiding that?,_ and was waving it threateningly in front of Usopp. "I have no idea what you have or how dangerous it is. So, if I see you pushing yourself too hard, I will be forced to sedate you."

Usopp shoved himself back, pulling the desk chair with him to get away from the syringe wielding reindeer. "No, no... no, do not come near me with that thing. My can't-go-near-needles-or-I-will-die disease is acting up."

"I will if you leave me no choice!" The tip of the syringe prodded Usopp's knee, and he kicked out, pulling his knees to his chest.

"I said no! Touch me with that and I swear the only stories I will ever tell you again are ones that will make Thriller Bark look like Candy Land!" Usopp snarled. He breathed heavily, glaring hard at Chopper. He startled the small reindeer, causing him to drop the syringe to the floor and run and hide behind Luffy's legs.

His hooves hugged Luffy's leg tightly as he peeked out from behind them, "Ah! Usopp's being _scary_."

Luffy blinked as he stared down at Chopper. Slowly, he slid his eyes over to Usopp. Nami was standing beside him, muttering to herself. After a moment, he decided it was safe to ignore her. "From what Sanji says you've been sick, Usopp, and you didn't tell us. We can't _lose_ you. You're the only sniper we've got."

"We're all just worried about you." Nami added, "We realize that you hate to feel like a burden, and that you want to do everything you can to help, but you really don't need to. Especially not now. We can help Sanji with the cleaning and someone will happily take over your watch. I'll do the laundry this week and Luffy can mop the deck tomorrow." She paused to throw a weary look at her captain who gave her a blank stare as he picked his nose, "I'll get Zoro to do it." She said as an afterthought.

Usopp slowly let his knees down from his chest and leant forward so that his elbows rested on his knees. He kept his eyes trained on the floor as he spoke, "listen, I appreciate your concern. It makes me extremely happy, but..." He paused and slowly took a breath, suddenly, he was having a lot of trouble breathing. "I rather just live through it until it goes away." He lifted his head and looked them in the eye, exhaustion coloring his features. "Look, I will not overwork myself, and I will let you guys take over when I get too tired, but I need to do as much as I can for myself."

Nami sighed, "you're such an idiot," she muttered. "So, freaking stubborn and reckless." She rubbed a hand over her forehead, trying to clear the headache forming.

After a moment, she reached down and took Usopp's hand, pulling on it to get him to stand. "Come on, up you get. Chopper is going to do a quick physical and then you are going to sleep. If you are better tomorrow and Chopper clears you, you can come on the island with us. We will be docking at a new island in the morning."

Usopp tensed as his stomach gave a lurch, before allowing himself to be pulled up. "Just let me put my blueprints away."

She gave him a stern look before letting go of his hand, "five minutes," she conceded, her voice leaving no room for argument. She tapped Chopper on the shoulder from where he was still hidden behind Luffy's leg and motioned towards the door, "Let's go ge-, USOPP!?"

Luffy rushed forward to grab his friend as Usopp fell to the ground, his breath labored, and beads of sweat forming.

"Lay him flat on the ground!" Chopper commanded, "Nami, move that chair out of the way." Luffy kneeled by his friend, shell shocked. His eyes were wide as he watched his friend struggle to breathe. "Luffy, move away," when he saw that the captain was not moving, he snapped, " _now_!" He motioned for Nami to move away from where Usopp was laying as well, not wanting them near Usopp while he worked.

Usopp's lips were starting to turn blue, as were the beds of his nails. He let out a cry and then he passed out, his arms flexing up before they were flung outwards, their movement stopping completely as they hit the ground. "Nami, grab that jacket and place it under his head. He looks like he is going into a seizure." Chopper's eyes roved over Usopp's body, waiting for something to occur.

Nami ran over to the door and grabbed the jacket hanging on the doorknob. She raced over and rolled the jacket up, placing it under his head. She squeaked and jumped away violently as Usopp began to jerk violently.

Nami reached her hand out, only to have it slapped back firmly by a hoof, "don't touch him!"

Nami sat back, watching wide-eyed as her friend jerked on the floor, tears filling her eyes. She spared Luffy a glance; he was staring blankly at Usopp, his eyes unblinking- obviously in shock.

They waited, and waited, and waited. Slowly, Usopp's jerking began to slow, and soon after, it stopped completely. Chopper nodded to himself, "Luffy, help me get him on his side."

Luffy gave no indication that he heard the Doctor. The reindeer frowned and turned to Nami, "help me move him onto his side. I need to make sure his throat is clear so that he doesn't choke. It should also help him breathe better."

Nami pulled on Usopp, but he only returned to his back. She sighed and tried again, starting when slightly larger hands covered hers and helped put Usopp on his side. She looked over her shoulder, watching Luffy as he frowned down at Usopp and placed him in a position he would stay in on his own.

"Are you okay?" Nami whispered to him. She slipped her hand out from under his and placed it on top, squeezing his fingers gently.

Luffy continued to stare down at his best friend, stiffening as the boy took in a particularly harsh breath. He sighed, and squezed her hand back, before allowing his hand to fall into his lap.

Chopper was on the other side of Usopp's body. He was writing notes on a notepad that he found on Usopp's desk and muttering to himself. He placed the pad down with a sigh and shook his head.

"What's wrong?" Luffy asked.

"The average cold would not give Usopp a seizure and he does not have a past of them. This means that whatever illness he has caused it. It is good, because narrows down the illnesses significantly."

Luffy and Nami gave out a sigh of relief, "it is bad, because most illnesses I know of that cause seizures, as a side effect, are mostly life threatening."

Nami's face fell, "when will you know what he has?"

Chopper cocked his head to the side in thought, "once he wakes, I can draw blood from him and begin to run tests to eliminate illnesses. I need to investigate his family history, what he knows of it at any rate, and see if there is anything to find there. If there is nothing, I will begin to look into illnesses found in the New World. I hope to have an answer by tomorrow evening." He examined Usopp for a moment longer before nodding. "He should be okay for now. I am going to go tell the others what happened. One of you should stay with him until he wakes. Once he does, call me so I can look him over."

Chopper gave one last sad look at Usopp before turning and leaving the room. As soon as he crossed the threshold, he sniffled and let out a choked sob. He rushed up the stairs to his sick bay, needing a moment to himself before he talked to the crew.

"Luffy, you can go. I'll stay with him," Nami whispered. She sat beside Usopp's head and was running her fingers through his hair. Luffy sat beside her, cross-legged, merely staring at him. The shock hadn't worn off yet.

"Nami, I'm scar-"

"Ugh," Usopp flipped himself onto his back, his eyes screwing shut. Pressing a hand to his forehead, he swallowed, "what happened?" he complained, as he attempted to sit up. Neither Luffy nor Nami were having any of that, however, and forced him back into a laying position. What is going on?"

"You had a seizure," Nami said as she pressed down on Usopp's shoulder to keep him there. "You shouldn't be moving."

"I'm fine. Just got a bit of a headache," Usopp pushed Nami's hand away and leaned on his elbows, hanging his head back so that he could see Nami's face. "Oi! Stop crying, Stupid!" Usopp stuck out his tongue at her as she gave a weak laugh, "I'm fine, _really_." He lifted himself up into a complete sitting position, "If I am completely honest, I feel better than I have in a few days. Well, minus the headache of course, but well, can't have everything I suppose." He reached over and wiped Nami's tears away with the back of his hand, "so stop crying, yeah? Sanji will kick my ass if he knows that I made you cry."

"True," Nami muttered as she wiped away the rest of her tears. "Would you... would you like me to get you some water?"

"I'm really not dying, Nami." Usopp teased, rolling his eyes at her. "No need to be so nice."

Nami rolled her eyes and stood up, rubbing her hands over her eyes one last time. "I need to go get Chopper anyway." She looked towards Luffy, "he can help you get to the sick bay. You shouldn't be alone."

Usopp allowed his gaze to shift to Luffy and frowned at what he saw. "I think it's more likely that I will be helping him there. What the hell is wrong with him?"

Nami shrugged her shoulders, "I think you scared him." She leaned down at patted Luffy's head before making her way out the door. "I'll be around to check up on you soon."

"Aye," Usopp nodded, shooing her away. He waited until the door was closed before twisting in his spot and sitting cross-legged in front of Luffy. "Oi, Luffy?" He poked his friend in the forehead to get his attention, to no avail.

He reached out and squeezed the other's shoulder, shaking him violently, "oi, Luffy," he tried again with no success.

He sighed and pulled back only to have Luffy's hand shoot out and grab his wrist. He gasped as he was pulled forward into Luffy's arms. He stiffened when he felt hot tears on his shoulder and did the only thing he could do, hug Luffy back.

"Luffy, …what?"

Luffy squeezed him a bit tighter, "seeing you there... I thought I would lose you, just like I lost Ace. I thought you were dying, and I froze because I couldn't bear the thought of losing my best friend."

"Luffy..."

"I don't care that you are our only sniper, there are a million more of those that we could get."

"... thanks?"

Luffy shook his head, "even though that sniper would never be as good as you, because you are the best, we could always get another one." He paused, taking in a shaky breath. "You, I am commanding you not to die. You can't die, because you are by best friend and losing you would hurt me as much as it did when Ace died. I… and I am not strong enough to deal with that. I will never be strong enough to deal with that again. I know… I am being selfish, but I don't care. I want to be selfish if it means you don't die- if none of you do. So, I am giving you a Captain's order. You are not allowed to die, okay, Usopp?"

Usopp snuggled his face into Luffy's shoulder and nodded, "yes, Captain." He gave Luffy one last squeeze before pulling away. Inconspicuously, he wiped his eyes, not noticing that his tears were stained red.

When he looked back up, he saw that Luffy was still giving him a very stern expression that made the bottom of his stomach fall out, "… what, Luffy?"

Luffy hadn't even bothered to wipe the tears or snot from his face, he only sighed and looked away to gather his thoughts. When he looked back into Usopp's eyes, what the Sniper saw reflected in them was determination, fear, sadness, and an air of command that Luffy only possessed when he was about to say something extremely important. "Until you are better, I am relieving you of all duties."

Usopp sucked in a pained breath and shook his head, fresh tears filling his eyes. . "Luffy, no, _please_... you can't do this." He begged, sucking in his breath and squeezing his eyes shut, willing the pain in his heart to decrease. "I don't want to stop. I'll be fine, I can do it all, you'll see."

Luffy dropped his gaze, his own heart hurting at the look of pain and loss on his friend's face, knowing that he was the one that put it there. "You'll get better," he said, voice leaving no room for argument. "You _will_ get better, Usopp, but until then, you need to focus on getting better." Luffy stopped, the pain in his chest getting worse, "it is for your own good."

Luffy reached up and removed his hat, pausing for a moment before placing it on Usopp's own head. He felt the hot tears in his eyes slip down his cheeks as Usopp nodded and pressed his forehead to Luffy's own. His own tear trails matching Luffy's, leaving red trails down his hallow cheeks.

 _To Be Continued..._

* * *

 **Hello, Everyone!**

 **I hope you enjoyed this latest chapter. If you did, click favorite, alert and/or leave a Review!**

 **Remember: keep it classy, make good choices and I hope to see you soon.**

 **Best,**

 **Chandlure**


	4. Beginning of the Toxic Phase: Day 10

**Beginning of the Toxic Phase: Day 10**

Chopper ran a hoof over his hat while he frowned down at the medical texts strewn in front of him. He ruled out hereditary diseases to the best of his ability from a survey of Usopp's family history, but there was not much to go on in that respect. Usopp knew little to nothing about any family illness, other than his mother, but when asked to name the disease, the boy came up blank. When asked what happened to his family history, Chopper knew better than to pry when Usopp's eyes dangerously darkened.

With a sigh, Chopper pulled his eyes away from the texts to the twenty test tubes on his desk. Most of them would be done within the hour, a couple of the more delicate ones- which he ran out of pure desperation, would not be done for another three or four.

He looked back down at his books, but the words were starting to bleed together on the page from his hours of fruitless searching. Sighing, he pushed his chair away from the desk so that he could jump down. Now would be a good time to check on Usopp.

Chopper walked down the stairs towards Usopp's factory down below. He stood outside the door for a moment before he knocked and let himself in. Usopp was sat at his desk with his back to the door. He was poring over blueprints that were spread across the desk. A frustrated mumble came from his lips as he scribbled something into the notebook that lay open in his lap. "Usopp?"

Usopp placed his pen in his notebook before putting them both on the desk and swiveling around to warmly smile at the doctor. "Hey! I was feeling better, so I thought I would get some work done."

"I'm glad!" Chopper replied earnestly, "I was thinking that if your check up goes well you can visit the island with the rest of us. We could all use a break from Sunny, no matter how much we love her."

Usopp's smile brightened further, "seriously‽" He turned and rolled up the blue prints on his desk, and threw them into his bottom drawer with gusto, "and here I thought I would need some elaborate plan to get off the ship today."

"Were those the Sunny's blueprints?" Chopper asked suspiciously.

"Copies of them," Usopp admitted with a sheepish shrug. "Franky would kill me if I were to ruin the real ones."

"Usopp," Chopper threw him a scowl but it lacked bite behind it. He would not have blamed Usopp if the older boy had tried sneaking out- they haven't seen an island in a week after all. On top of that, it had been a harrowing could of days as well.

Chopper pulled out his blood pressure kit and motioned for Usopp to lean his arm against the armrest of his chair. The doctor sighed as he worked the mechanism, a small frown on his face. "95 over 60, that is a bit low. Do you feel dizzy or tired?"

"Nope," Usopp shook his head, using the hand not occupied with the cuff to move his hair from his eyes, "I feel fine."

Chopper studied him warily before writing down a couple of notes into Usopp's medical chart and disconnecting the blood pressure cuff from Usopp's arm. He placed the cuff on the desk and pulled the stethoscope around his neck up and into his ears. "Lift up your shirt and take a deep breath."

Usopp obliged, shivering as the cold metal pressed against his chest. "Let the breath out slowly." Chopper moved the stethoscope and nodded, "once more. In, then out." He nodded and pulled the stethoscope away, hanging it back around his neck, "your wheezing slightly. I can hear it when you take breaths. Do you have any pain in your chest?"

Usopp shook his head, "none."

"Open your mouth," Usopp obediently opened his mouth allowing the oral thermometer to be slid under his tongue. He shied away from Chopper when he pressed the otoscope into his ear, but otherwise, made no other movement. When the thermometer beeped, Usopp took it from his mouth and handed it to Chopper. "101.3, that is a bit high, even for you."

"What is that in Celsius?"

"38.5."

Usopp scowled and crossed his arms over his chest. At his reaction, Chopper frowned, "it is not that much higher than your normal temperature. I have no issue with letting you leave the ship. You'll just need to make sure that you do not overexert yourself."

"I can go‽" Usopp jumped up from his chair, his hair swinging wildly around him mirroring his excitement.

"Yes, but no picking up heavy things and you need to bring water with you and make it back to the ship by lunch time!"

Usopp out the door with his jacket and bag before Chopper had even finished his sentence, "oi! Luffy, let's get out of here before Chopper decides that I am too sick to get off the ship." Usopp seized the back of Luffy's shirt and pulled him out of the kitchen.

"Ushap, mim etang!" Luffy protested, his hands still stretched towards the table as he nicked bread and other various foods left over from breakfast. He shoved the food into his mouth while he was pulled down the stairs to the main deck.

"You're _always_ eating," Usopp pointed out as he stopped at the bottom step and frowned, looking around. He could see the island they were heading towards in the distance. "We aren't there yet? Weren't we set to land a couple of hours ago?"

Nami looked at him from over her sunglasses, "we should be arriving within the hour. The wind had stopped for a bit, so it was slow sailing. Luckily it has picked up again, so we shouldn't have any more trouble. From your enthusiasm, I would say that you have been cleared to come with us. If that is the case I will need your help today carrying my bags."

Chopper ran out onto the deck and stood in front of Nami, glaring sternly at her. "I gave him permission to explore the island under specific instructions that he is not to do anything strenuous. That includes carrying your bags, Nami. His blood pressure is a bit too low and his temperature a bit too high for him to be doing anything that may affect his health."

Nami gave Usopp a scrutinizing stare before shrugging her shoulders, "fine. I'll just get Zoro to do it."

"Dream on, Sea Witch," Zoro countered from where he lay at the mast. He was the epitome of relaxation, hands behind his head, legs folded neatly in lazy ease. "I need to go to the blacksmith."

"I guess you really want me to raise your interest again," Nami said threateningly. A snort of derision was his only reply.

"I'll help you carry your bags, Nami-swaaan!" Sanji danced onto the deck, a cool glass of fruit drink and a fancy pastry lay neatly in the middle of the tray he was holding. He bowed and presented them to her, "for you, my dearest flower."

Usopp choked back his laughter and rolled his eyes towards the sky. If there was one good thing about being confined to bed it was that he didn't have to watch Sanji drooling over Nami.

"Thank you, Sanji." Nami said sweetly, taking the glass and pastry from him and placing them on the small fold up table beside herself.

Noticing Sanji's distraction as an opening to steal more food, Luffy was marching back to the kitchen with Chopper loyally following behind him. It only took a moment for Sanji to follow after, screaming at the both of them to keep their hands off of the leftovers, while he gripped the tray in his left hand, and his right hand reached into his breast pocket for a cigarette. After watching the interaction with mild amusement, Usopp slumped down into Robin's chair and scooted up so that his head leaned over the back. He stared at the cloudless sky, a smile on his face.

Everything seemed to be going back to normal. He was feeling better and could go to the island with everyone else. Little did he know, right now was merely the calm before the storm.

o0o

Usopp sighed, and scanned the crowd for any sign of Luffy, but the captain was nowhere to be seen in the sea of people. For a few minutes he attempted to retrace his steps in the hope that he would find Luffy drooling over some window display, but slowly tiredness began to seep into his bones and he soon needed to stop to rest.

He came upon a small drawbridge that linked the residential side of the island to the shopping center and decided to stop for a bit and rest. Even Luffy could stay out of trouble the couple of minutes Usopp decided to take for himself.

He leaned heavily against the cast-iron railing and looked out at the murky water beneath him. His eyes followed the small white cargo ships as they bobbed happily, ropes keeping them secure to the port-side not too far away from where he stood on the bridge. Busy workers were loading and unloading crates as people gathered curiously around the tables lined up next to the river. Venders were there selling everything from snacks to clothing, jewelry to perfume.

A group of school children on their bicycles rode behind him, speaking excitedly in a language that seemed vaguely familiar to Usopp but not one he could quite put his finger on, as they rushed to the ice cream shop on the other side of the river. Their bikes blocked the walking path in front of the establishment as they jumped off them, leaving the bikes carelessly on the pavement, but most people did not seem to mind much, merely walking around the bikes rather than making a big fuss.

He could see Zoro and Nami about half a mile away entering yet another clothing shop where Nami was sure to swindle the poor owner out of all the clothing he possessed there. Zoro was laden with bags, but did not seem to mind much, merely following Nami into the store wordlessly. She must have struck some type of deal with him to get Zoro to come with her, probably something to do with the blacksmith in town.

Robin was in the bookshop with Chopper down the street. He could see them clearly through the meticulously clean windows. Chopper was on the second floor looking through the books in the medical section- perhaps something that would help him diagnose what Usopp had. Robin was on the first floor speaking to the store clerk, a beady eyed mousy man with long hair. She held two books in her hand, but he couldn't tell what they were from his position.

Sanji was walking past all the venders, his hands free from any bags which Usopp took to mean he was merely browsing. Had he gone to the stores, he would have had at least a bag or two of spices as were his routine. Usopp raised his hand and waved to Sanji when the older boy looked up towards him. Sanji smiled and waved back before going back to the vender he had stopped at. The vender happened to be a young girl with long black hair, so Usopp needn't guess what Sanji was up to.

Usopp could hear Franky rather than see him. The Cyborg was at the other side of the bridge talking to one of the ship mechanics about the Adam Wood he used for the Sunny and why it was better than ordinary wood. He tuned them out quickly, having heard that conversation a few too many times for his liking.

Brooke, well he stood out like a sore thumb. Not only was he eight feet tall, towering over almost everyone on the island, he was also a walking skeleton. It was a bit hard to miss him. Brooke was sitting on the railing across the boardwalk; his legs tangled into the spokes to keep himself from falling into the water and was playing with his violin. He seemed completely unaware of the small group of onlookers he had gathered, most of which were children on the way home from a long day of classes.

Usopp stiffened when someone leaded against the railing a foot away from himself. His hand began to twitch towards his bag out of habit, but he kept it firmly on the railing. He wearily studied the man beside him from the corner of his eye, hoping he would not try to strike up a conversation.

"Beautiful here, isn't it?" No such luck.

Usopp blinked and turned his head so that he could see the man more clearly. He was about his height, perhaps an inch or two taller than himself with blonde dreadlocks with skin just a tad darker than his own. He wore a white cloak with blue stars decorated on it. On his back was a musket, securely tied by red cloth.

Usopp felt a slight twinge at the back of his head, almost as if he were forgetting something, but he barely registered it as a surprised look crossed the man's face beside him. As quickly as the look had appeared, it was gone, and it took Usopp a moment before he realized what had happened. _He tried using Haki on me, so rude_. An annoyed look flashed upon Usopp's face and he turned back towards the river. _A sniper and one that uses Haki- there aren't many of those in the New World which means he is on one of the stronger crews._

Deciding to play it cool, Usopp nodded his head in agreement. "Yeah. It's gorgeous." He pressed forward, leaning heavily on the railing. His own weapon dug into his thigh reassuringly from inside his bag. He crossed his right leg over his left, his eyes scanning the crowd again for his crew mates to make sure they were still in close proximity. If he was in trouble, he would need all the help he could get.

Franky was still behind him; with the conversation shifted from Adam Wood to this new metal that was supposed to be rust proof- something Usopp filed away to ask about later. Brooke had moved to the square in the middle of the street performing for a larger group than earlier but was close enough if Usopp needed him. Sanji was still chatting with the pretty girl from earlier. She hadn't told him to shove off and looked to be having a good time. This meant that perhaps Sanji had a chance of getting some this island. _Good for him._

"The sea is beautiful, but there is something about being back on land and communicating with normal people that really makes you appreciate it all the more."

Usopp smiled despite himself, that was a feeling he knew all too well. "Heh, yeah. After a while you just need a break from it all no matter how much you love your crew." He smiled sadly as he pushed his hair from his eyes. "I don't know what I would do without them though, probably be back in East Blue struggling to keep the roof of my parents' house from caving in."

The man turned towards him, "you left your family behind?"

 _Who doesn't?_ Usopp looked straight down into the water where a group of ducks happily swam. "No, my father left to become a pirate about fourteen years ago. My mother had insisted upon it, probably hadn't planned on dying a couple years later." Usopp shrugged, "I have a couple of friends I left behind, but I am sure they are fine. I still send them letters from time to time."

He had no idea why he was spilling his life story out to the person who could potentially be an enemy of the crew eventually, but there was a presence about the man that made Usopp trust him and it wasn't the Haki.

The man beside him had stiffened a bit, "I'm sorry to hear about that. You, you must hate your father for leaving your mother and yourself. I have a son I left at home myself; my greatest fear is that he hates me."

Usopp sighed and shrugged, "I am extremely proud that my father is a pirate and I love him. I don't hate him, not anymore. I did for a while, but I was younger, and Mom had been gone for a while and I was so _alone_ , God, I hated him so much back then, but then... then I realized that he was following his dream. I realized how amazing that was, and if I were to take anything away from him it would be to always follow my dreams. Well, that and how to shoot stuff. He taught me the basics.

"He was so awesome! I remember him forcing me to shoot leaves off the trees in our village, but I wasn't allowed to shoot the leaf part of the leaf, only the stem where it was connected to the branch. I was _so_ frustrated because I was having trouble getting it, but eventually I got it and I was so proud of myself. My mother was so _angry_ at him," Usopp laughed gleefully, "I don't remember ever seeing her so mad! She was screaming at him saying..." Usopp paused and frowned, scanning his memory but coming up blank. Shrugging, he sighed, "Well, it's been seventeen years, I was bound to forget some of the story eventually." He smiled sadly, "I was three at the time, so it had something to do with a three-year-old not handling a gun- I do remember that being the reason I got a sling shot."

The man seemed to stop breathing and Usopp studied him, "are you okay?"

He seemed to snap out of his reverie and turned towards Usopp with a forced smile, "yeah, just... I hope my own son sees it the same way you do."

Usopp shrugged, "that would depend on the circumstances that he has found himself in." Usopp murmured. The sun was almost at its highest point in the sky and Usopp could see the rest of the crew starting to head back to the docks for lunch.

He pushed away from the railing and stood straight, fixing his bag so that the strap lay against his shoulder more comfortably as he smiled at the stranger. "Thank you for the talk, but I need to go find my captain. He'll be upset if he misses lunch. Besides, who knows what trouble he has gotten into not being under any supervision?" Usopp cocked his head to the side, his smile growing wider. "There are no war bells sounding or explosions, so that is good news."

The man chuckled and held out his hand, "thank _you_ for indulging me." Usopp accepted his hand, causing the man's smile to grow. "I didn't catch your name, mine is Yasopp. I am a Commander and head sniper for the Red Hair Pirates." His eyes caught Usopp's causing the boy to swallow. It was obvious that he knew who Usopp was and was merely waiting for a reaction from him.

Although shocked, Usopp somehow managed to keep a smile, albeit a forced one, on his face. "I am the sniper for the Straw Hat Pirates." He said smoothly, as if he had no idea who Yasopp was. He took a deep breath to state his name when a sudden burst of pressure pressed behind his eyes, and a burning heat flushed through his body causing him a bout of dizziness. He grabbed onto the railing to keep himself upright as he swayed in his spot.

Yasopp's smile dropped into a frown as Usopp leaned heavily against the railing and started breathing heavily as if he were having trouble taking breath into his lungs. "Hey, are you okay‽ Can you breathe?"

Usopp shook his head as Yasopp pulled him closer to steady him. Usopp pushed him away as a wave of nausea hit him, his body shaking so violently that he fell onto the floor. His hand slipping from the railing as he weakly coughed up blood and spit.

Yasopp kneeled beside him and pulled up Usopp's chin to bring his face up towards his own. Usopp felt a wetness in his eyes that was slowly making its way down his cheeks. "Shit, what the hell have you gotten yourself into?" Yasopp hissed as he wiped Usopp's eyes and cheeks with a handkerchief from his back pocket. When he pulled away, Usopp caught sight of blood staining the cloth. He leaned over and emptied his stomach onto the pavement in front of him. There was a reddish black tint to it that caused Yasopp even more alarm. "Why are you throwing up blood‽ What the hell have you done to yourself‽"

"Sick, Chopper doesn't know why... no one else is ill... only me. I was better this morning... had a physical and was cleared." Usopp leaned his head against his knees and held his stomach, "I need to get back to the ship... they'll worry if I don't show up... but they can't see me like this. Can't... I can't be a burden to them... I won't be." He closed his eyes, feeling the last remnants of consciousness leave him.

"Usopp! Usopp, I need you to stay with me, Son." Yasopp pressed his hand to the back of Usopp's head and rubbed his scalp, trying to get the long nosed teen's attention, but it was no use. He remained limp, head resting in his knees.

Yasopp lifted Usopp's head and shifted it so that he could rest comfortably on his shoulder before reaching under Usopp's knees and pulling him flush against him. He stood, pulling Usopp closer to his body as he made his way towards the docks. His doctor would be at the docks if no one else.

Quickly, he made his way through the crowds of people, ignoring the curious stares he got from people as he rushed past them. Normally he would run, but in this crowd and a sick Usopp in his arms, he could not risk hurting himself or the boy. Usopp was completely lax in his grip, but his breathing, while labored, brought some comfort to Yasopp.

He stopped just before the entrance to the docks, Luffy and Shanks walking down the road just a bit ahead of them. "Captain!" Yasopp picked up the pace as Shanks and Luffy stopped for him to catch up.

Luffy's eyes widened and he rushed to meet him half way, "Usopp!" Luffy touched Usopp's forehead before glaring up at Yasopp. "What the hell happened to my sniper‽"

"We were talking and suddenly he got really sick, then he passed out! He mentioned something about being sick for a while but being given leave from the ship."

Luffy's eyes softened in understanding but worry blossomed in its place. "Did he have a secure? Seixure?" Luffy shook his head, "something bad happened to him a couple of days ago. He almost _died_. He has been relieved of ballistics duty until Chopper clears him and he was getting better! Chopper would not have allowed him off Sunny if he weren't." He turned and looked over Yasopp's shoulder towards Nami and Zoro who were rushing towards them. The latter was laden down with twice as many bags as before.

"I saw someone carrying Usopp past one of the shops! What's going on?" Nami asked, skidding to a halt beside Luffy and taking his shoulders, shaking him roughly. "Tell me!"

"Yasopp said that he passed out when they were talking. Did you guys see Chopper on your way here?"

Nami pulled out her Den Den Mushi, "he was with Robin. I'll see if I can contact her."

Zoro placed the bags down and studied Yasopp for a moment before reaching out for Usopp, "hand him over."

Yasopp stared at Zoro and pulled Usopp closer to his body causing the swordsman to narrow his eye at him, his fingers grazing over his swords. Sanji turned up suddenly, out of breath as he knocked into Zoro causing the other man to take a couple steps back. Zoro pushed Sanji away, "what the hell is your issue, Curly-brow‽" he snarled.

"You were in my way, Marimo! If your dumbass wasn't standing in the middle of the road, maybe you wouldn't be knocked into!"

"I was trying to get Usopp, Love-cook!" Zoro sneered, hands on his swords readying himself for a fight.

Yasopp had backed up a bit to keep Usopp out of the line of fire, a weary look crossing his face as he turned to Luffy, "I don't know if I feel safe leaving Usopp with you guys."

Sanji turned his eyes fell on Usopp, the fight with Zoro immediately forgotten. He reached over and pushed Usopp's hair from his eyes, "he was fine this morning. Chopper told him he would be okay to leave. Why is he suddenly sick again?"

Luffy studied the scene and turned towards Nami when she popped up by his shoulder, "Chopper and Robin are on their way. They will notify Franky and Brooke if they run into them. Chopper said to get Usopp into the sickbay and if he has a fever to put a cool cloth on his head."

Luffy nodded, turning towards Zoro and Sanji, "Zoro, take Usopp there and stay with him. Nami, you go with him and help Zoro if he needs it. Sanji, you can go start on Lunch. We'll regroup by the time its ready."

Zoro reached over and took Usopp from Yasopp as Luffy walked over to him and maneuvered Usopp's head, leaning it so that it was nestled between Zoro's neck and shoulder comfortably. Nami put her Den Den Mushi away and pushed Zoro forward towards the ship. "Oh, Luffy, bring my bags back to the ship, would you?"

Luffy blinked down at the bags and shrugged, "eh, sure why not?"

"Thank you!" Nami winked and blew him a kiss, walking up to Zoro and slapping him across the head. "The ship is that way, Idiot!"

"Nami-swan is so smart!" Sanji gushed, twirling around behind them as Zoro merely gritted his teeth, and reminded himself that he had Usopp in his arms and it wouldn't do to throttle Sanji at that moment.

Luffy leaned his head down so that his hat covered his face as he rubbed his hands over his face, letting out a weary sigh. He smiled tiredly and looked up at Yasopp, rubbing the side of his eye with his wrist. "I thought he was getting better." He pushed air out heavily through his nostrils and shook his head, "I'll give you updates on him. I don't know what we are going to do yet, but if you want I can keep you updated on our plans as well. I can't allow you on the ship, any of you, because it might upset him and make him even sicker."

Yasopp opened his mouth to protest, but Shanks cut him off with a hand on his shoulder, "if you need anything don't hesitate to ask. All our resources will be made available to you. If you need other people to help watch after him, or another doctor..."

Luffy glared up at Shanks, his hands curling into fists at his sides, "why would I need another doctor?"

"Well, Luffy, your doctor let him go out when he obviously still was ill-"

"No!" Luffy snapped, "Usopp was _fine_. He looked perfectly happy and he was up working in his factory! It isn't Chopper's fault that he couldn't catch it, no one could have caught that!"

"I am just offering my doctor in case you needed him, I wasn't putting down your doctor I am sure he is fine."

"Luffy!" Luffy turned and smiled softly as Chopper jumped into his arms. "Is Usopp okay‽"

Robin, Brooke and Franky walked up behind him, worried looks on their faces. "Robin-sis told us what happened."

Luffy nodded, "can you guys take Nami's bags to the ship? Lunch will be ready soon and then we will talk about what we will be doing." He looked down at Chopper who was looking up at him with watery eyes, "Chopper, I need you to find out whatever you can about what is wrong with Usopp. I don't care how long it takes; I want you working on nothing else. Do you understand me?" Chopper nodded, and Luffy squeezed him tightly before placing him down on the ground. "I'll be home in a couple of minutes."

Chopper jumped up on Robin's shoulder as Brooke and Franky collected the bags from the ground and started talking a mile a minute as they walked away. Robin was petting his head, trying to soothe the doctor.

Luffy turned back to Shanks and Yasopp, "listen. Usopp is in great hands and I really need to get home now. I'll keep you updated."

"Your doctor is a reindeer, Luffy, you can't be serious!" Yasopp hissed as he pointed in the direction Chopper went in. "Usopp needs a _human_ doctor."

"Chopper was trained by some of the best doctors in the world. He saved _Zoro_ from the brink of death, and he will figure out what Usopp has and make him healthy again."

"Luffy-"

"No, Yasopp! I am his captain and I know what is best for him. I am sorry if you don't like it, but it is not your choice."

"I am his father!"

"You abandoned him!" Luffy snapped, before he fell silent, his head dropping into his hands. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean that. I am just worried for Usopp. It feels like losing Ace all over again." He paused for a moment to wet his lips, "it doesn't get easier does it?"

Shanks reached over and pushed the straw hat back so that he could run his fingers through Luffy's hair, "no. Are you going to be okay?"

Luffy backed away and forced out a laugh, "of course! I have to be."

Shanks looked at Yasopp who looked as worried as he felt, "Luffy-"

Luffy chuckled and turned waving his hand, "I have to get back to my crew, lunch is about ready. I'll see you guys later!"

"Luffy!" Shanks called after him, frustration coloring his voice. He sighed and shook his head, "I have a feeling this isn't going to end well."

Yasopp shook his head, watching as the boy retreated. "It will, it has to."

o0o

Usopp whimpered and leaned over the edge of the sick bay mattress, his head bowed down towards the floor as another wave of nausea hit him. He coughed and closed his eyes and mouth tightly as he felt the bile rise in his throat, willing it back down. His clothing and sheets were soaked through with sweat, but he was shivering violently as if he were in 3-degree weather with only a t-shirt and shorts.

"Usopp, are you awake?"

He moaned in response, unable to move both from weakness and the severe ache in his muscles. "Usopp!" Luffy rushed to his side from his seat beside Chopper's desk, his eyes filled with worry. "Usopp, what's wrong?" Luffy grabbed his hand and squeezed it, a feeling of relief filling him when Usopp squeezed back.

Usopp shook his head, his eyes screwing shut even tighter. He couldn't speak; if he were to talk he would vomit. He leaned his head against the edge of the bed and lay there panting, wishing that Luffy would shut up and just leave him alone. He was being too loud, and it hurt Usopp's head. "Chopper! Usopp's awake, but I think he's even worse now!"

Chopper flew into the sick bay from the Galley with Sanji on his heels. The cook stayed by the door, apron wrapped tightly around his body and oven mitts around his hands as he shook his head and sighed wearily, "doctor! We need a doctor!"

"You're the doctor, Chopper," Luffy said firmly, moving away from the bed so that Chopper could have room to look Usopp over.

"Right!" Chopper nodded his head, eyes filled with determination as he stood on Luffy's abandoned chair with a frown on his cute fuzzy face. He pushed Usopp until he was properly sitting back in the bed and rechecked his vitals.

"Do you have any news?" Sanji asked from his spot by the door.

"Well, I am almost positive that he caught it from the last island we visited, but other than that I am clueless as to what it could be. All tests that I've run have come back negative, except for the last one which is set to be finished in a couple of hours. Once I figure out what Usopp has, I am going to have to run tests on the rest of you."

Luffy nodded his head, hands clenched into fists at his sides. "Is there anything the rest of us can do, Chopper?"

Chopper shook his head, "until I know what he has it is actually best if you guys stay as far away from him as possible.

"Very well, Brooke?"

"Yes?" Chopper blinked and turned his head towards Brooke who was sitting against the wall on the other side of the room. When he arrived, Chopper had no idea. But he had not been there when Chopper first came into the room- he would have helped with Usopp had that been the case.

"You are on night watch tonight- it was supposed to be Usopp's turn."

"Of course, Mr. Luffy," Brooke said, leaning back more comfortably against the wall as he cleaned his violin strings.

"Thanks," Luffy looked down towards Usopp with determined eyes. "We'll get out of this, Usopp. I promise. You will be at my side when we finally reach Raftel Island, when we reach One Piece and you will realize your dream. You just need to stay strong for a bit while we try and figure this out, okay?"

Luffy took off his hat and placed it beside his friend on the bed before turning and smiling at Chopper. "Remember, any news comes to me first." Chopper nodded as he rushed back and forth around his desk, various books and notes falling off his table in his haste.

Luffy took one more look at Usopp before exiting the sickbay. _You'll be okay, Usopp. We won't lose you, we can't._

 _To Be Continued_

* * *

 **Hello, Everyone!**

 **I hope you enjoyed this latest chapter. If you did, Favorite, Alert and/or Leave a Review!**

 **Remember: keep it classy, make good choices and I hope to see you soon.**

 **Happy New Year,**

 **Chandlure**


	5. Notice- Hiatus

To my lovely readers,

This has been a difficult year for me and it has caused me to put a stopper on writing- at least for a bit. I am working full time at a 2e school as a special education teacher. I also go to school myself and take classes. Along with that, I have been fighting with depression and just haven't had any motivation to write. As it stands, I have created outlines for when I am feeling better, but I will not be writing anymore for this story until that point comes.

I apologize for the inconvenience this causes you guys, and I hope to be back writing soon.

Chandlure


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